Heald frame leveling apparatus in a dobby machine

ABSTRACT

Heald frame leveling apparatus as utilized in a dobby machine in connection with weaving of a fabric involving interlocking of hook elements includes pivotally supporting mounting members on which a card cylinder is mounted. Means are provided to pivot the mounting members to readily and easily effect arrangement of all of the heald frames at a predetermined level at any time.

United States Patent 1 Goishihara Oct. 21, 1975 HEALD FRAME LEVELING APPARATUS IN A BOBBY MACHINE [75] Inventor: Tsutomu Goishihara, Seto, Japan [73] Assignee: Yamada Dobby Co., Ltd., Nagoya,

Japan [22] Filed: July 9, 1974 [21 Appl. No: 486,938

1,653,193 12/1927 Unwin 139/75 2,712,327 7/1955 Davies et a1. 139/71 3,095,909 7/1963 Pfarrwaller .1 139/75 Primary ExaminerHenry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Frank J. Jordan [57] ABSTRACT Heald frame leveling apparatus as utilized in a dobby machine in connection with weaving of a fabric involving interlocking of hook elements includes pivotally supporting mounting members on which a card cylinder is mounted. Means are provided to pivot the mounting members to readily and easily effect arrangement of all of the heald frames at a predetermined level at any time.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 865,264 9/1907 McGumess 139/75 1 V 4 1 a l [I s 1 7b 7a u 9 5 1 r"- 2 e c Q 7 i f i i V 3 8 3 14 13 18 17 U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet 1 of5 3,913,627

w A A U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet 3 of5 3,913,627

U.S. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet 4 of 5 3,913,627

Fig. 5

PRIOR 4/? T US. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 Sheet 5 of5 3,913,627

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HEAL!) FRAME LEVELING APPARATUS IN A DOBBY MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dobby machine and more particularly to a dobby machine in which the leveling operation of all of the heald frames can be readily performed by moving a paper card cylinder in relation to hook elements so as to release engagement between the card cylinder and the hook elements.

2. Description of the Prior Art In weaving a fabric, all of the heald frames for shedding must be arranged at a prescribed level for ending the operation at the end breakage of the warp and for passing a heald at the beginning. Therefore, dobby machines are commonly provided with leveling apparatus for arranging all of the heald frames at a prescribed level so as to release an interlocking motion between a card and a hook, that is to say, there is provided an apparatus for returning heald frames to the original position.

Heretofore, such leveling apparatus was generally constructed as shown in the prior art arrangement of FIG. 5 wherein a shaft 23 having a string thereon is disposed to extend in a direction perpendicular to hooks 22 and below a surface constituted by the parallel arrangement of a plurality of such hooks 22, the latter moving pivotally relative to vertical levers 21. In this prior art arrangement the string is drawn up to pull the hooks 22 for releasing the connection or engagement with a knife 24 so as to effect a leveling operation of all of the heald frames.

In the above prior art arrangement, when the hooks 22 engage the knives 24, the hooks 22 cannot be drawn up on account of the frictional contact between the hooks 22 and the knives 24. Therefore, the hooks 22 must be drawn up when they are not engaged with the knives 24. However, since the connecting part between the hooks 22 and the knives 24 usually has a gap of only 1 2 mm, it is difficult to effect the drawing-up operation at the proper time. For the above reason, this prior art apparatus has a disadvantage in that the leveling operation of heald frames can not be freely effected at any time.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of known prior art arrangements and to provide a leveling apparatus for arranging all heald frames freely and readily at any time and at any location in a dobby machine, and wherein mounting members which mount a card cylinder can be pivotally moved forwards or backwards together with the card cylinder.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heald frame leveling apparatus in which a cylinder carrying a card can be readily moved backwards so that a card peg does not contact an interlocking member of a hook and the engagement between the card and the hook is released for correct leveling of all heald frames, whereby the working efiiciency may be increased according to the ready leveling operation and the economization achieved thereby.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide that mounting members which carry the card cylinder may be readily moved forwards and backwards with a rod so as to perform the ready leveling operation of heald frames at any time and at any place, whereby :the operation can be readily performed without requiring skilled operators.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a card cylinder that is held in either of two positions, front and rear, by means of a simple rod operation for moving the mounting members, whereby the construction and operation can be remarkably simplified.

Other features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described in relationship to specific embodiments, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A heald frame leveling apparatus as utilized in a dobby machine in connection with weaving of a fabric by interlocking of hook elements includes a card cylinder having pegs and pivotally supported mounting members mounting the card cylinder. A rod element supported in a rod support is movable into two fixed positions on the rod support to engage the mounting members and thereby establish two pivotal positions of the mounting members. One of the pivotal positions of the mounting members establishes one position of the card cylinder in which the interlocking action between the card pegs and the hook elements is established. The other pivotal position of the mounting members establishes another position of the card cylinder in which the interlocking action between the card pegs and the hook elements is released.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view of an apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention and illustrating a condition in which a rod is moved forwards and in which the mounting members of the card cylinder are disposed vertically so that a card peg can contact a fish lever.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to P10. 1 but showing a condition in which the rod is moved backwards and in which the mounting members of the card cylinder are slanted so that the card peg cannot contact the fish lever.

FIG. 3 is a view of the card cylinder and mounting members for the card cylinder.

FIG. 4A is a partial view illustrating the relationship between the card cylinder shaft and the universal joint.

FIG. 4B is a partial exploded view of P16. 4A.

FIG. 5 is a view diagrammatically illustrating a prior art leveling apparatus in a Dobby machine.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the apparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a mounting member 4 which oscillates about a pivot l at the upper portion thereof and which is provided with a hole 3 at its lower portion for receiving a shaft 2. The mounting member 4 is also provided with a rod stop 5.

A rod 6 having a traversely extending attachment 6a is supported in a rod support 7 having a front chamber 70 and a rear chamber 7b. The rod 6 is movable horizontally and the attachment 6a is adapted to be inserted in the front chamber 7a or the rear chamber 7b and then rotated in a right angled direction, whereby the rod 6 will be disposed in either of two positions, front or rear. The front part of the rod 6 is adapted to contact the rod stop 5 while the rear part is in the form of a knob. As shown in FIG. 6 there are provided two independent rods 6 and associated chambers 7a, 7b.

A spring 8 is arranged between the lower portion of the mounting member 4 and the rod support 7 so that the front part of the rod 6 and the rod stop 5 are always in contact with each other.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, it will be seen that there are mounting members 4 arranged on both sides of a card cylinder 9, and a universal joint or Oldhams coupling is arranged between a shaft 9a of the card cylinder 9 and a cylinder driving shaft 20 fixed on the base so that the card cylinder 9 itself can be rotated. A universal joint or Oldhams coupling is a form of flexible coupling that is especially adapted for connecting two shafts which are parallel but not in line. Discs, 10a and 10b, with grooved faces are keyed on the ends of the shafts as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. A third disc, 100, with two tongues at right angles to each other and located on opposite sides of the discs lies between the other two discs. The tongues on 10c fit into the grooves of 10a and 10b. With this type of coupling the connected shafts have the same angular velocity. At a corresponding position relative to each of the card pegs 12 arranged on a card 11 which is disposed on the card cylinder 9, there is attached a fish-lever 13 on which a retention hook 15 is pivotally mounted through a spring 14. Near the end portion of the retention hook is there is arranged a stop 16 which defines the rotat ing motion of the retention hook 15. A hook 18 is in contact with a reciprocating knife 17 and the hook 18 is engaged or disengaged with the retention hook 15.

The operation of the present invention will now be set forth. In order to instruct a weave on a fabric by the card peg 12, the rod 6 is moved forwardly in a horizontal direction and then turned in a right-angled direction by gripping the knob so that the rod 6 is fixed in position by locating the attachment 6a in the front chamber 70 as shown in FIG. 1. At the same time, the front end of the rod 6 pushes the rod stop 5 of the mounting member 4, whereby the left-side wall of the hole 3 contacts the penetrating shaft 2 so as to hold the mounting member 4 in a vertical state.

In order to release a weave on the fabric, the rod 6 is moved, rotating with the card 11 which hangs or is arranged on the card cylinder 9, so as to locate the attachment 6a in the rear chamber 7b as shown in FIG. 2. In this condition, the mounting member 4 is pulled by the spring 8 so that the lower portion thereof is moved to the left as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, whereby the right side wall of the hole 3 contacts the penetrating shaft 2 so that the mounting member 4 slants as shown in FIG. 2. Following the slanting motion the card cylinder 9 moves backwards to a position where the card peg 12 cannot hook or contact the fish-lever 13. Therefore the retention hook 15 which interlocks with the fish-lever 13 releases its connection with the hook 18 so that all heald frames (not shown) can be arranged on the same level.

As described above, in the arrangement according to the present invention, since the card cylinder on which a card is disposed is moved backwards to a position where a card peg cannot contact a fish-lever, all of the hooks release contact with the knives to prevent the interlocking motion of the card and hooks so that all heald frames can be arranged at a prescribed level. Moreover, the operation can be readily performed in a one-shot operation at any time and at any position, resulting in economy of power utilization and improvement of efficiency of the leveling operation. Furthermore, operator skill is not required in the operation, and the requirement for performing a difficult task at optimum timing as in prior art arrangements is not necessary according to the present invention.

Furthermore, the present invention has a very simple arrangement and construction which produces superior results.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangements of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form heretofore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. Heald frame leveling apparatus as utilized in a dobby machine in connection with weaving of a fabric by interlocking of hook elements, the combination comprising a card cylinder having card pegs, pivotally supported mounting members mounting said card cylinder, a rod element supported in a rod support, said rod element being movable into two fixed positions on said rod support to engage said mounting members and thereby establish two pivotal positions of said mounting members, one of said pivotal positions of said mounting members establishing one position of said card cylinder in which the interlocking action between said card pegs and said hook elements is established, the other pivotal position of said mounting members establishing another position of said card cylinder in which the interlocking action between said card pegs and said hook elements is released.

2. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said mounting members rotatably support longitudinal end portions of said card cylinder, said mounting means being pivotally supported about a pivotal axis disposed above the axis of said card cylinder, said mounting members having stop elements thereon disposed below the axis of said card cylinder, said rod elements engaging said stop elements below the axes of said card cylinder to thereby establish said two pivotal positions of said mounting members.

3. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rod support has a first and a second chamber, said rod element having a protruding portion adapted to be disposed in either said first or said second chamber to thereby establish said two pivotal positions of said mounting members, said rod element having a knob to facilitate placement of said rod element in either of said two chambers.

4. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said dobby machine includes a base part, said rod support being fixed to said base part, and biasing means pivotally biasing said mounting members in a pivotal direction towards said rod support.

5. l-leald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said rod element is disposable in said first chamber to define a forward position of said rod element and of said mounting members, said rod element also being disposable in said second chamber to define a rear position of said rod element and said mounting members.

6. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said card pegs engage said hook elements when said mounting members and the card cylinder mounted on said mounting members are in said forward position, said engagement of said card pegs with said hook elements effecting an interlocking relationship of said hook elements.

7. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 5 whereby when said mounting members and the card cylinder mounted thereon are in said rear position, said card pegs are spaced from said hook elements to preclude contact between said card pegs and said hook elements, whereby the interlocking relationship of said hook elements is released.

8. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said hook elements include a pivotally supported fish-lever and a retention hook with the latter being interlockable and disengageable with a hook member, and means biasing said fish-lever in a pivotal direction towards said card cylinder.

9. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 8 whereby said retention hook and hook member are interlocked when said retention hook and fish-lever are in one pivotal position and said mounting members are in said forward position, said retention hook and said hook member being disengaged when said retention hook and fish-lever are in another pivotal position and said mounting members are in said rear position.

10. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 9 including means limiting the pivotal positions of said retention hook and said fish-lever.

ll. l-leald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 including means for limiting the pivotal movement of said mounting members.

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1. Heald frame leveling apparatus as utilized in a dobby machine in connection with weaving of a fabric by interlocking of hook elements, the combination comprising a card cylinder having card pegs, pivotally supported mounting members mounting said card cylinder, a rod element supported in a rod support, said rod element being movable into two fixed positions on said rod support to engage said mounting members and thereby establish two pivotal positions of said mounting members, one of said pivotal positions of said mounting members establishing one position of said card cylinder in which the interlocking action between said card pegs and said hook elements is established, the other pivotal position of said mounting members establishing another position of said card cylinder in which the interlocking action between said card pegs and said hook elements is released.
 2. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said mounting members rotatably support longitudinal end portions of said card cylinder, said mounting means being pivotally supported about a pivotal axis disposed above the axis of said card cylinder, said mounting members having stop elements thereon disposed below the axis of said card cylinder, said rod elements engaging said stop elements below the axes of said card cylinder to thereby establish said two pivotal positions of said mounting members.
 3. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said rod support has a first and a second chamber, said rod element having a protruding portion adapted to be disposed in either said first or said second chamber to thereby establish said two pivotal positions of said mounting members, said rod element having a knob to facilitate placement of said rod element in either of said two chambers.
 4. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said dobby machine includes a base part, said rod support being fixed to said base part, and biasing means pivotally biasing said mounting members in a pivotal direction towards said rod support.
 5. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said rod element is disposable in said first chamber to define a forward position of said rod element and of said mounting members, said rod element also being disposable in said second chamber to define a rear position of said rod element and said mounting members.
 6. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said card pegs engage said hook elements when said mounting members and the card cylinder mounted on said mounting members are in said forward position, said engagement of said card pegs with said hook elements effecting an interlocking relationship of said hook elements.
 7. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 5 whereby when said mounting members and the card cylinder mounted thereon are in said rear position, said card pegs are spaced from said hook elements to preclude contact between said card pegs and said hook elements, whereby the interlocking relationship of said hook elements is released.
 8. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said hook elements include a pivotally supported fish-lever and a retention hook with the latter being interlockable and disengageable with a hook member, and means biasing said fish-lever in a pivotal direction towards said card cylinder.
 9. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 8 whereby said retention hook and hook member are interlocked when said retention hook and fish-lever are in one pivotal position and said mounting members are in said forward position, said retention hook and said hook member being disengaged when said retention hook and fish-lever are in another pivotal position and said mounting members are in said rear position.
 10. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 9 including means limiting the pivotal positions of said retention hook and said fish-lever.
 11. Heald frame leveling apparatus according to claim 1 including means for limiting the pivotal movement of said mounting members. 